Tourist smiles after causing ancient stalactite to fall in French cave
‘What message does this send to his children?’ asks manager of ancient grotto. He said the visitor would have had to pull the rock formation to break it off
The cave is over 60 million years old, and the rock formations have been there for tens of thousands of years
Grotte de Maxange
A tourist has been recorded on CCTV footage destroying an ancient stalactite in a cave in south-west France.
The man was on a tour of the cave structure with his partner and children and is seen deliberately interfering with the rock formation.
He was caught breaking off a stalactite from the walls of the Maxange cave, Dordogne, despite being told repeatedly by a tour guide not to touch them due to their fragility.
He looks surprised after the stalactite breaks off but then leaves the piece of rock on the ground, and is seen smiling alongside his partner before walking away and leaving it there.
He did not inform the tour guide about the incident, and attempted to leave without being caught.
“To remove a piece like this, you have to pull it towards you, there are no other solutions. A 10-kilogram [stalactite] doesn't just fall off,” said Cyril Caballero, who manages the cave after his father discovered it in the 2000s.
“This is lucky, because if it did we would not be able to show off the cave to visitors,” he added.
The stalactite is reported to be “at least tens of thousands of years old”, with the cave being formed more than 60 million years ago.
Read more: French Palaeolithic cave art shows deep human connection with animals
Information passed to police
Mr Caballero was able to piece together the culprit’s identity from matching the time the camera recorded the incident with information handed over by visitors before taking a tour.
He lodged an official complaint on Monday (August 12), and passed the information about the visitor to the gendarmerie to investigate further.
“This allows us to tell this gentleman that we are aware and that this is not a harmless act,” said Mr Caballero.
“His children were with him. What image does he give them? You don't do something that's forbidden, just go off and have a laugh and [then believe] there are no consequences,” he added.
The Connexion spoke to Mr Caballero this morning, who told us the investigation is still underway but that he was certain of the identity of the culprit.
He added that he will ask the culprit for ‘symbolic compensation’, which will be used to install a sign informing visitors about the risks of touching the rock formations.
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